1
as in cerebral
much given to learning and thinking
as the daughter of college professors, she's used to being around intellectual people
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2
as in internal
of or relating to the mind
intellectual pursuits such as reading and studying
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3
as in educational
of or relating to schooling or learning especially at an advanced level
research that shows that people from very intellectual backgrounds are happiest with spouses having comparable educations
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as in nerd
a person with strong intellectual interests
discovered that in politics a reputation for being an intellectual was regarded as a liability
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of intellectual
Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
Critiques of intellectual corruption were made long ago, across the pond, in Julien Benda’s Treason of the Intellectuals (1927), followed by Raymond Aron’s Opium of the Intellectuals (1955).
—Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noah Baumbach’s painfully incisive portrait of a family divorce among a remarkably prickly family of Brooklyn intellectuals finds so many ways to showcase its characters’ most brittle sides.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Adjective
The bookstore started gaining its following during the Beat era, becoming the gathering spot for the Peninsula’s intellectual set around the same time similar ideas were brewing at Cody’s Books in Berkeley and City Lights in San Francisco.
—Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
Critiques of intellectual corruption were made long ago, across the pond, in Julien Benda’s Treason of the Intellectuals (1927), followed by Raymond Aron’s Opium of the Intellectuals (1955).
—Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
The first National Conservatism conferences drew students and intellectuals who felt marginalized by the Republican Party and dreamed about taking power.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Noah Baumbach’s painfully incisive portrait of a family divorce among a remarkably prickly family of Brooklyn intellectuals finds so many ways to showcase its characters’ most brittle sides.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intellectual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intellectual
Adjective
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The mind becomes analytical and cerebral due to the Virgo energy.—
Lisa Stardust,
Refinery29,
18 Sep. 2025
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The Democratic Party is in shambles because it has become consumed by leadership that wants to have cerebral debates over abstract concepts, and the Republican Party brand, vis-à-vis its own leadership, fails to appeal to greater masses because of its fascination with uninformed arrogance.—
Fabian Naranjo Gonzalez,
Oc Register,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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One — the Dodge Charger, both sedan and Charger Daytona coupe — offers both electric and internal combustion drivetrains.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
20 Sep. 2025
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We are all shaped by internal drives, evolving goals, health needs and external circumstances.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Advertisement To get tax-exempt status, an organization has to describe itself to the Internal Revenue Service and explain its intention to further charitable, educational, scientific or religious purposes.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
22 Sep. 2025
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Bands of America is one of the programs run by Music for All, a nonprofit educational organization based in Indianapolis.—
Jenny Porter Tilley,
Indianapolis Star,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This is important not just for nerds like us, but for anyone who, for whatever reason, may not want to be sending $12-$15 to a streamer this month.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
18 Sep. 2025
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At the time, GPS nerds hung out on the nascent Internet, chatting on newsgroups.—
Sarah Scoles,
Scientific American,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Research shows that early exposure to a second language can improve cognitive development and academic performance.—
Sandy Mazza,
Nashville Tennessean,
20 Sep. 2025
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The film tracks Chou’s navigation of adolescent relationships, including romantic disappointment and academic pressure, as external political events amplify personal upheavals.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
20 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Excuse the cynicism, but this is the sort of combination of touchy-feely button-pushing and self-conscious peculiarity that’s meant to seem significant and profound that will bring out your inner rom-com Grinch.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
18 Sep. 2025
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Mercury in Libra wants to shift your inner narrative to release outer-world tension.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Deadline asks the Festival chief whether Series Mania is focused on the highbrow of the drama spectrum.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
6 Mar. 2025
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Wagner would be a sleepless highbrow’s favorite; the long, lush, unbroken lines of music share with the white-noise hum of the air-conditioner or the thrum of the painstaking lecture the quality of being absorbing without offering undue eventfulness.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The author of several books and scholarly articles on equity markets, Jacobs has been a long-timer supporter of the Wharton School and has previously served on its finance faculty.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Today, calligraphy remains part of northern Nigeria’s scholarly traditions.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intellectual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intellectual. Accessed 25 Sep. 2025.
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